Christmas Shoes
by BTRlover98
Summary: He wanted to make his mother happy on Christmas, he wanted to see her smile, and he wanted her to look beautiful if she was going to meet Jesus in heaven. All he needed was a little help.


**Hey guys! :) So, I have some things I want to say...  
**

**One, I really wanted to write something about the shooting in Connecticut. I've been so sad ever since I heard about it. But I didn't want to write about anyone dying because I didn't think I could do it without crying. Two, I have really bad writer's block. I have so many ideas for one-shots and stories, but I just can't write them, you know? It's so annoying, haha. Three, this will probably be a little bit sad because it's based off the song "Christmas Shoes", which is the saddest song ever, but I had this idea, and I needed to write something to just like, let my feelings out, because I've been a little upset lately. So even though it's sad, I hope you like it :)  
**

**I own nothing at all.  
**

The small boy walked along the cold, icy streets of Minnesota late at night, hanging his head as tears pricked in his eyes. The world seemed to be falling apart for the little, 8-year-old boy. It was Christmas Eve, which was supposed to be a fun, cheerful time, but his heart was heavy and all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. Everything was wrong. Everything in his mind was stupid. He hated just about everyone he saw. They all looked happy, with huge smiles plastered on their faces and cheerful laughs echoing in the streets.

Why couldn't he be that happy like every other Christmas Eve?

The little boy glanced down at the ten dollar bill he was clutching in his small, frozen hand. After his father told him the awful news, he ran out of the house sobbing, trying to get as far away as he could. He ignored his father's pleas for him to come back and just ran. Eventually, he found himself just walking around, staring at his old sneakers and crying softly to himself. He ignored the worried looks he got from older people, and the weird looks he got from the kids his age. He was used to that, anyway. All the kids at school thought he was the weird, new kid.

He glanced sadly through the store windows as he passed, desperately trying to find something he could buy for his mother that was less than ten dollars. He wanted something nice, not just a plastic ring like he got her every Christmas. That wouldn't work this year. She needed something beautiful. However, all the beautiful things in the windows were so expensive. He would never have enough time to get the money for something like that.  
But he was determined. He had to find something for her. Something that she would love.

He stopped at a store that he saw was filled with beautiful gowns and peered through the window. He looked all around, knowing she would love one of those dresses. She loved wearing pretty dresses when they went to church on Sundays, so one of these would be perfect. The little boy walked through the door and began to look around the store.

"Can I help you, sweetie?"

He turned around to find a young woman smiling gently at him. He nervously glanced around the store before speaking up in a quiet tone. "D-do you have any dresses for ten dollars?" he asked hopefully. The woman frowned, looking down at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, honey, the cheapest we have is around forty dollars," she told him. His face fell and he looked down at his dirty, wet sneakers again.

"Okay, thank you, ma'am," he said softly before leaving the store. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he hastily wiped his eyes, sniffling. Would he _ever _find something for her?

He didn't have much time left, he had to look fast. This was his last chance, and he wanted to find something special. He wanted his father to be proud and his mother to be happy. He wanted them all to be happy. They deserved it, didn't they?

"Mom! Mom, can we go in here?"

The boy looked up in curiosity when he heard something close by. He watched as a boy who looked to be his age tugged on his mother's arm. She was holding a little baby girl who was giggling at her older brother, and the family laughed as they walked into a store. The little boy looked sadly at the family, wishing he could be as happy as they were. He looked through the window and watched as they looked around. He saw the boy sit his sister on the ground and slip a big pair of beautiful shoes onto her tiny, tiny feet. She kicked them off immediately just as the child outside of the window's eyes widened.

His mother would love those shoes! He knew she would!

He ran into the store just as the boy and his sister walked away, and he snatched the shoes, staring at them in awe. They were perfect. He knew his mother would look beautiful in them. Without even bothering to check the size or price, he darted over to the checkout line, anxiously waiting behind an older woman.

Finally, he moved up in line and placed the shoes carefully on the counter. He was actually smiling, just a little bit, as the man behind the counter checked them out. "That'll be $17.99," the man said, and the smile instantly disappeared off the boy's face.

"What?" he asked, double checking to make sure he heard right.

"$17.99."

The boy felt his heart drop to his feet when he realized he got his hopes up for nothing. He blinked away his tears, and although he knew he didn't have enough, he handed the ten dollars to the man, trying to hold back a sob.

"Sorry, kid, you're eight dollars short. Do you have anymore?" the man asked, smiling sadly at him. He shook his head silently, staring at the ground. After reaching up and taking the shoes and his money back, he walked away from the counter.

But he wasn't ready to go back outside yet. He put the shoes back where he found them and went off to hide behind a small rack of clothes. He gently sat crosslegged on the ground and buried his face in his little hands. A soft whimper escaped his mouth as his father's words from earlier ran through his mind.

_"Come here, buddy, I gotta tell you something."  
_

_"What, Dad? Don't we have to go to church now? It's almost seven," the little boy said as he approached his father. The young man picked up his son and put him on his lap, sighing.  
"_

_No, I don't think we're going to church this year."_

_The little boy frowned. "Why not? We go every year! It's Jesus' birthday, we have to go!" he protested, but his father only sighed again and closed his eyes._

_"Well, we have to skip this year. Mommy's too weak to go right now. We're going to stay home with her, and spend time as a family."_

_"Why can't we spend time as a family at church?" _

_"Why do you want to go to church so bad, bud?" his father asked. The little boy looked down, shrugging._

_"So we can pray for Mommy to get better! It's Christmas! It can be our Christmas miracle this year, but we have to go to church and ask baby Jesus to help us!"_

_"I don't think we're getting a Christmas miracle this year, buddy. We don't have much time left with Mommy," his father said sadly. The boy frowned and looked at his father in confusion._

_"What do you mean?" he asked in disbelief._

_"I think this year for Christmas, Mommy's gonna go live up in heaven with Jesus. It'll probably be his birthday present," the man tried to smile at his son, but he couldn't even force one onto his face._

_"What? No, Mommy has to stay here with us! It's Christmas! She can't go to heaven yet!" he exclaimed, tears already starting to fall down his pale cheeks._

_"She'll be happy up there. She won't be in pain. And she'll get to meet Jesus tonight. That will be so cool for her, won't it?"_

The little boy never responded after that. He just jumped off his father's lap and ran. Ran away from their small house and into the cold, windy streets, trying to get away.

In reality, he was really trying to find his way to church, so he could beg Jesus not to take his mom. So he could beg for a Christmas miracle, but he got lost, and that was when he stumbled upon the money.

Tears fell from his eyes like a waterfall, and the boy softly sobbed in the corner of the store. Why was this happening to him? To his mother? Why was she going to leave him and his father all alone. They weren't a family without a mother. He didn't want to lose her, she was his only friend. The only person he could ever talk to when he got home from a long, lonely day of school. As much as he loved his father, talking to his mother had always been easier for him. He was embarrassed to admit that he had no friends in front of his dad. And the thought of losing his only friend made him cry harder.

"Are you okay?"

The small boy looked up to find the other young boy who was there with his family sitting in front of him. He blinked a few times, clearing his eyes of tears before he realized that he recognized the boy from school. He rubbed his eyes and nodded, trying to avoid eye contact with his peer.

"Why are you crying?" the boy asked, pushing his long, blonde bangs out of his eyes before sitting down beside the crying child. When the boy didn't reply, he pressed on. "It's okay, you can tell me. We go to the same school, don't we?" he asked. "I'm Kendall. You're name's Logan, isn't is?"

The boy looked up in surprise and nodded, unaware that anybody knew his name. He looked at the blonde in amazement. Why was he talking to him? He was a loser, wasn't he?

"Come on, why are you crying? It's Christmas, you should be happy!"

Logan finally spoke up in a quiet, shaking voice. "M-my m-mommy i-is going to heaven t-tonight," he whispered. "She's going to meet Jesus for his birthday," he told him. The blonde boy looked at him curiously.

"Is she coming back?" he asked. Logan shook his head and buried his face in his hands again and a sob escaped his throat once again. "Why isn't she coming back?" Kendall asked, suddenly very upset for the boy.

Logan sniffled. "Sh-she's sick... My dad s-said i-it's time f-for her to l-live up in heaven w-with God so sh-she doesn't h-have pain anymore..."

Kendall frowned before wrapping an arm around his new friend. "I'm sorry, Logie. That's not fair!"

Logan began to cry harder when Kendall called him his mother's nickname. However, he didn't mind too much. He just leaned into the boy holding him and began to cry into his shoulder. "I-I w-was going t-to b-buy her sh-shoes so sh-she would look b-beautiful w-when she m-met J-Jesus tonight!" he sobbed. "B-but I-I don't h-have enough m-money!" He held up his ten dollar bill to show him.

Before Kendall could respond, they heard his name being called. "Don't move, Logan! I'll be right back!"

The crying little boy watched as the blonde stood up and ran away. He prayed Kendall would come back, because he didn't want to be left alone. Fortunately, Kendall returned minutes later, dragging the woman he walked in with, who was holding the little baby. Logan looked up at her, smiling just a bit to be polite.

"Hi, sweetie. Are you okay?" she asked. Logan forced a nod and stood up, suddenly embarrassed that he was crying. Before he knew it, Kendall had shoved the beautiful shoes and another ten dollar bill into his hands. He stared in disbelieve at the items in his hand, and he knew he was holding enough money to buy his mother the shoes.

He looked up at Kendall, who smiled at him. "Now your mommy can look beautiful for Jesus tonight!" he exclaimed. Logan smiled back and attacked the boy in a hug. He had never been more grateful in his life.

"Thank you so much!" he cried. "She's going to love them! And so is Jesus, I just know it! My dad's going to be so happy I found something! Thank you! She's gonna look so great in these!" he shouted.

The boy's mother smiled heartbrokenly at Logan as he ran back to the check-out line as fast as he could and purchased the shoes. He ran back over to the little family and hugged both Kendall and his mother. "Thank you, Kendall! She's really going to appreciate it! I'll try to bring money to school for you!"

Kendall shook his head, smiling, "No, that's okay. Merry Christmas!"

Logan smiled back, the most real smile he had all night and ran out of the store, going as fast as he could to get back home. He held the box of shoes close to him as he crossed the last street and up his steps. He burst into the house, darting into the living room.

The Christmas tree shined brightly, lights twinkling and ornaments hanging down. He saw his mother laying on the couch, and his father sitting next to her. They both looked worried sick until they saw him.

"Logan!" his father stood up and wrapped his son in a hug. "You can't run off like that! We were so worried about you!"

"I'm fine, Dad. I went to the store," he said, holding up the bag.

"You were gone for almost two hours!"

"I'm sorry, Dad," he whispered. "But I got Mommy something!"

"Aw, sweetheart, you didn't have to get me anything," his mother said weakly from the couch. She tried to sit up as Logan ran over to her. He sat down in front of her and took the box holding the shoes out of the bag from the store.

"Yes, I did, Mom," he said sincerely. He handed her the box, smiling. Tears stung his eyes as he watched her open it. Her face lit up with a smile when she saw what was inside, and she immediately wrapped her son in a hug.

"They're beautiful, Logan, thank you!" she smiled. He smiled back and kissed his mother on the cheek. "How did you get money for these?" she asked as she looked down at them again.

"I-I made a friend. He helped me pay for them. I didn't have enough money when I found them, so he lent me some," he answered. "But you have to put them on, they're going to make you look beautiful, Mom! You're gonna look beautiful for Jesus!" he exclaimed. His mother smiled, tears shining in her eyes as she slipped them onto her feet. "You look really pretty," Logan whispered. And suddenly it dawned on him again that his mother was going off to heaven soon. He wiped his eyes, whimpering as he looked at his mom.

"Thank you, baby," she whispered back, smiling at him reassuringly. "It's okay, don't cry, honey. I'll be okay."

And although Logan lost his mother that night, it wasn't as bad as he thought, because he knew she was okay up with Jesus.

She was watching over him, his father, and his new best friend.

**I'm sorry, was this sad? I'M SORRY. I almost cried writing it just because...I thought it was sad. I was going to make it a little longer, but I have to go to bed, haha. **

**I hope everyone liked this, and I hope you have an AMAZING Christmas and New Year, or you had a great Hanukkah! I love you guys so much! :) **


End file.
